We can all talk about Chicago food, help write the next guidebook on what to see, its architecture, or just muse about the city’s history (be it the city’s founding, Ferris Bueller, the mafia wars, or the baseball wars). But Chicago is a great “canvas for curiosities” (fun little stories or curious sights); what with its size, multitude of places to go & hang out, and colorful locals/visitors alike there can be no shortage of curiosities or good times!

Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t that other places can’t provide perfect backdrops for good stories (New Orleans certainly is! I could tell you stories… if I remembered them), but Chicago offers such a variety of possibilities, that it is inevitable to leave the place with good stories or good pictures.

A group of folks passionate about the experience of travels (who also share an interest in meeting like-minded folks) got together in Chicago for the Windy City tweetupin May 2012. There will be/are blog entries here and in their blogs (check them out – links below!) written about the weekend but I thought I’d devote one to the curiosities and/or the good times of the weekend as captured with my camera…

Plenty of Odd Birds

People watching doesn’t get much better than in this city with the sheer number of people out and about (OK, it does in some places but not by much more). But this strange bird caught my eye as he was sitting perfectly still in-air 😉 Or was he just watching tourists play at The Bean?

We Didn’t Start the Fire (No, Not THAT Chicago Fire)

No matter what anyone claims, we did NOT cause this mishap in Michigan Ave. Some other group of marauders must have done it. (Notice that the city kindly placed an orange cone to protect pedestrians!)

We Think We Are Having a Good Time until We Look at the Photo Days Later…

Our group enjoyed standing in front of The Bean while we all shot pictures at ourselves – we thought that was a cool idea. But the real action was taking place right next to us. Now THEY were having a good time!

Warning – Don’t Make Me Smite You Guys (or Is It “Youse” Guys?)

Well, early on, a warning seemed to have been delivered to us to NOT have too much of a wild time while at The Pump Room on our first night enjoying drinks, dinner, and the ambience. I want to say we were not affected by it but some had an odd glow all weekend. Oh, wait that could have been the boa…

The Angels Are in Town – and not the Baseball Team

Friday night, as we walked the streets in the Water Tower district, a local realized that Charlie’s Angels were in town. I took a look around me, and, oh dear, I was Charlie. Better than Bosley for sure. So, we decided that the Angels needed to do their thing. And here it is:

Good times.

Spread ‘Em, Lady

Chicago,of course, can provide a rather large playground for bachelor and bachelorette parties – ALL sorts of good times. We believe that was what we ran into as we went to the Cloud Gate (or The Bean) at Millenium Park as a group of ladies kept hoisting one of their lot up in various poses… One of our guys was “had” as he heard the words of legs being spread…

And Just When You Think You Have Had a Good Time…

… the BOA enters the picture. Then all bets are off. What you thought had been fun so far, becomes childplay-fun only. We don’t know where the boa originally came from. I can’t tell you much else about it – the moment it enters the picture, the fun begins and the time for chit chat is not gonna happen… You see, the boa has a mind of its own, it wraps you within its feathers, and then… well, this is the point where I have to use that old and wise adage and give it a local twist: “What happens in Chicago, stays in Chicago… or else the ghost of Mr. Capone will make me regret it!”

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Check out these folks with a great point of view and travel stories to tell!

About ilivetotravel

Part of the fun of traveling, besides the travel itself, is the experiences that happen along the way. Getting hopelessly lost in eastern France, being tossed into a stranger's car in the Sinai peninsula, discovering the most mouth-watering wines in Mendoza, etc. all enhance the travel experience. 16 years of travel writing, first just emails to friends and family as I went around the world and, since 2008, via this blog! Drop me a note about your own travels any time - I love discovering new jewels for future travel opportunities!